Should teenagers have the right to emancipate themselves at will?

[darklordoftech]

Should they? Do you think is a good way to help LGBT teenagers?

[dead0man]

at will?  no, there should be a process with evaluations and such, but nothing cumbersome.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Can't say for sure. There should be a procedure- the teenager should be able to independently go to a government office without his parents and start the process, sure, but he should have valid reasons to do so (homophobic parents should be a valid reason).

[beaver2.0]

No.

[Dr. MB]

Depends on the circumstances, of course.

[Unironic Kamala Harris for President Supporter]

Can't say for sure. There should be a procedure- the teenager should be able to independently go to a government office without his parents and start the process, sure, but he should have valid reasons to do so (homophobic parents should be a valid reason).

[darklordoftech]

What's the worst that could happen if they could emancipate themselves at will?

[America Needs R'hllor]

What's the worst that could happen if they could emancipate themselves at will?

Breaking of families because teenagers are weird and can act unreasonably?

[HillGoose]

I don't think you should have to wait until a certain age to be emancipated, under the condition that psychiatrists and law enforcement determine that the teenager's situation warrants being emancipated from the parents.

[dw93]

Can't say for sure. There should be a procedure- the teenager should be able to independently go to a government office without his parents and start the process, sure, but he should have valid reasons to do so (homophobic parents should be a valid reason).

[Mazda]

What's the worst that could happen if they could emancipate themselves at will?

The worst?

Okay, sure. Thirteen-year-old kid emancipates themself from their parents for sh**ts and giggles (if there was abuse going on, the current system would allow them to get away). Thirteen-year-old falls behind at school because of having to work nights in order to earn money to feed themself. This is beside the fact that no reputable employer is going to take on a thirteen-year-old even if child labour laws are relaxed. Unable to earn decent money and with no hope of an education, the thirteen-year-old becomes homeless (or, at the very least, has to move into social housing, with much the same results) and develops a heroin addiction. To afford food, the child now has to become an underage prostitute and is trafficked to a different, more dangerous, country, where they are shot and killed at the age of fifteen in an episode of brutal gang violence. The loving parents, distraught at the absence of their child, end up killing themselves, much to the dismay of the trustees of the donkey sanctuary they ran.

You did say the worst thing.

Basically, there's a reason teenagers are judged not to be able to take care of themselves, and this reason is known in many circles as 'adolescence'.

[Since I'm the mad scientist proclaimed by myself]

What's the worst that could happen if they could emancipate themselves at will?

The worst?

Okay, sure. Thirteen-year-old kid emancipates themself from their parents for sh**ts and giggles (if there was abuse going on, the current system would allow them to get away). Thirteen-year-old falls behind at school because of having to work nights in order to earn money to feed themself. This is beside the fact that no reputable employer is going to take on a thirteen-year-old even if child labour laws are relaxed. Unable to earn decent money and with no hope of an education, the thirteen-year-old becomes homeless (or, at the very least, has to move into social housing, with much the same results) and develops a heroin addiction. To afford food, the child now has to become an underage prostitute and is trafficked to a different, more dangerous, country, where they are shot and killed at the age of fifteen in an episode of brutal gang violence. The loving parents, distraught at the absence of their child, end up killing themselves, much to the dismay of the trustees of the donkey sanctuary they ran.

You did say the worst thing.

Basically, there's a reason teenagers are judged not to be able to take care of themselves, and this reason is known in many circles as 'adolescence'.

It's kind of naive to believe that all abused teens will be saved by the system. Unless you got beaten or raped, you're screwed. I speak from both personal experience and anecdotal evidence. Most children who would run away from parents don't have a loving family, even if one is technically emancipated, good parents would allow one to come back if they wanted to. And allowing teens to go to an actually good home or something easily should definitely be a thing.

[Sirius_]

Can't say for sure. There should be a procedure- the teenager should be able to independently go to a government office without his parents and start the process, sure, but he should have valid reasons to do so (homophobic parents should be a valid reason).

[darklordoftech]

This is beside the fact that no reputable employer is going to take on a thirteen-year-old even if child labour laws are relaxed.

If they're willing to take on a felon...

[DC Al Fine]

This is beside the fact that no reputable employer is going to take on a thirteen-year-old even if child labour laws are relaxed.

If they're willing to take on a felon...

A felon probably has a stronger back than a thirteen year old.

[Former President tack50]

No.

Only exception for me would be for 15-18 year old orphans.

[darklordoftech]

There's places where 16-year-olds can drive, drink, smoke, consent to sex with an adult, be tried as an adult, work full-time, and drop out of school. Yet they can't read a contract?

[darklordoftech]

I was expecting some conservatives to say, "Emancipation would relieve parents of a burden and would give teenagers valueble real-world experience."